The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1887-07-28
SERMONS OF THE FUTURE.
REV. DR.. TALMAGE SAYS THEY
WILL BE SHORT.

WILL BE SHORT.
Condensation Demanded by the Age.
The Coming Discourse VIII Abound in
Instances Of vicarious Suffering Taken
from Everyday Life.
THE HAMPToNs, July 24.-The Rev.
T. De Witt Talmage's subject this morn
ing was: ''Prcacling, Teaching and Elk
hortation,' and his text: Romans xii.
7, s: "Or ministry, let us wait on our
ministering; or he that teacheth, on
teaching: or he that exhorLeth, on ex-
hortation." "
Before the world is converted the style
Of religious discourse will have to be con-
verted. You might rs well go into the
modern Sedan or Gettysburg with bows
and arrows instead of rifles and bomb
shells and parks of artillery as 10 expect
TO conquer this world for God by the old
styles of exhortation and sermonology.
Jonathan Edwards preached the sermons
luost adapted to the age in which he
lived, but if those sermons were preached
now they would divide an audience into
two classes, those sound asleep and those
wanting to go home.
but there is religious discourse of the
futurc-who will preach it | have no
idea, in what part of the earth it will be
born ! have no idea, in which denomina-
tions Of Christians it viii be delivered
cannot guess. That discourse or ex-
hortation may be born in the country
meeting house on the banks Of the St.
Lawrence, on the Oregon. or the Ohio,
on the Tombiglice, or the Alabama. The
person who shall deliver it may this mo-
ment be i'm a cradle under the shadows
Of the Sierra Nevadas, or in a New Eng
land farm house, or amid the rice fields
Of the southern savannas. Or tins mo-
meut there may be some young man in
some of our theological seninaries, in tie
junior or middle or senior class, shaping
that weapon of power. Or there may
be coming some new baptism Of the Holy
Ghost ON the churches 50 that some OF
us who now stand IN the watch towers
Of Zion waking to realization Of our
present inet1iciency, may preach it our
selves. That coming discourse may not
be fifty years off. And let us pray
God that its arrival may be hastened,
while | announce to you what l think
viii be the chief characteristics Of that
discourse or exhortation when it does
arrive, and [ want to make the remarks
of the morning appropriate and suggest
i've TO all classes Of Christian workers.
First Of all | remark that that future
religious discourse viii be full of a living
Christ in cOntradstinction to didactic
technicaIities. A discourse may be full
OF Christ though hardly mentioning his
Same, and Il sermon may be empty OF
Christ while every sentence Is repetitiOus
OF l1a titles The world wants a living
Christ. not Christ standing at the head
of a formal system of theology, but q
Christ who means pardon and sympathy,
and coincidence. and brotherhood, and
life, and heaven. A poor mans Christ.
A rich mans Christ. An oyerworked
mans Christ. An invalid's Christ. A
farmers Christ A merchants Christ.
An artisan Christ An every man :
Christ.
a symmetrical and fine w0rdcd system
of theology is well enough for theological
classes. hut it has no more business iii Il
- pulpit chan have the technical phrases of
au auatomist or a psychologist or a ply
siciau in the sick room Of a patient. The
world wants help. immediate and world
uplifting. and il wsil come through a dis
course in which Christ shall walk right
down into the immortal soul and take
everlasting possession of it, filing it rs
full of light as IL This MONDAY firmamcnt.
That sermon Of exhortation of the fu-
aurc yiIl not deal with men IL the thread
lare Illustrations of jesus Christ. In
shat coming address there will be i1-
stances of vicatious suffering taken right
ont of everyday lie. for there is not 9
,lav somebody is not dying for others.
as ihe Uhysician saving his diphtheritiC
uotirnt bv sacrificing his own life: as tht
shin captain going down with his vessel
while he is getting his passengers into thC
iifcboat: as the fireman consuming in tho
burning building while he is taking Z
child out of Il four story window; as il
summer the strong swimmer at las
Hampton. or Long Branch, or AapC
MAY. or Lake George, himself perisie,
irving to rescue the drOTpIng; n
the newspaper boy one summer, sup
porting his mother for some years. III
invalid mother. when offered hy gen
iieman fifty cents to get some especIo
paper. and he got it, and rushed up II
his anxiety to deliver it, and was crushed
under the wheels of the train, and lay o.
the grass with only strength enough T.
say: "Oh, what will become of my poo
sick mother now?'
Nicarious suffering. The world is ful
Of il. An engineer said to me OF loco
motive in Dakota: 1--WE men seem to h
coming to better appreciation than W.
,;scd to. Did you see that account tn
other day of an engineer who to save hi
passengers stuck TO his place, and wS,el
he was found dead in the locomotive
which was upside down, he was foun,
etill smiling, his hand on the air brake
And rs the engineer said it to me, he pu
his hand on the air brake to iilustrat
his meaning. and l looked at him an
thought: you would be Just rs mucI
of a hero in the sarn2 crisis.
Oh. in that religious discourse of tn
future there will be living Illustration
taken ont from everyday life of Vicai2ou
illustrations that will bring I
gnind the ghastlier sacrifice of Tim VIII
in the high places of the field, ON tn
cross, fought our battles, and wept ou
eriefs. and endured our struggle, an
died our death.
=
Christ. and lie asked his little child,
wears old, who il was, and she sale
That must be some very great man.
The sculptor was displeased with the cri
icism. so he got another; block Of marbl
md chiseied away ON it two OF tiTs
wears. and then he brought in his littl
child. 4 or years Of age, and he said
her: ..Nho do you think that isT' 81
said: THAT must be the One who too
little children in his arms and biesse
Them" Then the sculptor was satisfied
Oh my friends, what the world wants
not a cold Christ. not an iutellectu
Christ. not severely magisterial Chris
but a loving Christ, spreading out Il
arms of sympathy to press the who
world to his loving heart
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